Tuesday, May 26, 2015

GROUND REALITIES OF PM'S VISION THROUGH SHOBHA DE'S PERCEPTION

SHOBHA DE EXPOSES PM'S ACHIEVEMENTS WITH PRECISE DISAGREEMENTS...

ACHCHE DIN ARE YET TO COME, IT'S TOO EARLY TO CELEBRATE MR. PM

As they say, "SELF PRAISE IS NO RECOMMENDATION" the ground realities seem to be miles and miles away yet PM goes on patting his own back praising his govt. on innumerable counts. No doubt, he has been able to score on a few things I have already written on but the entire nation is yet to get relief from what he had promised before winning the election. A day before yesterday, I read this fine-tuned article from Shobha De which I completely concur with.

Isn't it too early to decorate, too early to celebrate???

Her article published in TIMES OF INDIA on 24th may, 2015 goes like this:-

Mr PM, time to wake up and smell the masala chai...

Dear Modiji,The sizzling heat in India must be getting to you, now that you are back for a brief visit after several foreign jaunts (18 in 12 months) to cooler climes. Unfortunately, the welcome home hasn’t been terribly enthusiastic, even though it is Janamdin Mubarak time for your government. Look what you have come back to: Criticism and taunts.

Frankly, this ‘report card’ exercise has become a bloody bore, don’t you agree? You are definitely not getting the Student of the Year award — but, so what? Your fans (rapidly dwindling and disillusioned) are still supporting you as the head boy of India. But even the most dynamic head boy in a pathshala needs a supportive team to win inter-school events. You are head boy, class monitor, games captain, house captain, prefect and librarian, all rolled into one. But your strict principal is just one entity — the citizen of India. And at the moment, the Indian citizen is naraz. Very naraz.

Citizens can be annoyingly impatient and demanding. The thing is, when you promised ‘achhe din’, people believed you. Radical plans were announced to get India get back on its feet. Your way with words charmed everyone — we fell for the slogans and wah-wahed. ‘Make in India’ was catchy and inspiring. World leaders started to acknowledge us, and that felt fantastic. You went racing to visit our neighbours — a good move. You invited khaas mehmaan to India, starting with Pakistan’s Nawaz Sharif. Then came the biggie: Barack Obama. He rejigged his insane schedule and singled you out — not once, not twice, but thrice. This was a gigantic international signal. Everyone was maha impressed.

While these heady shows of diplomacy were in full flow, it appears you forgot all about India. There you were rushing from one foreign capital to the next, walking the red carpet like Aishwarya Rai at Cannes, and changing as many outfits too! Your vanity crossed all limits with that tasteless monogrammed suit that some say cost your party the Delhi election. Uske baad, it has been downhill all the way…

Image and perception make or break leaders. The early expectations have been replaced by dejection and disappointment. No matter how efficiently you responded during the Nepal crisis, no matter how aggressively you set the foreign policy agenda, the home truths have been different. People need jobs. They had hoped your economic policies would create them. People want spiralling prices to be checked. That hasn’t happened either. If anything, collective morale has been sliding rapidly and the cost of living has never been higher.

Taking advantage of the disenchantment, Rahul Gandhi has suddenly woken up from deep slumber and gone ballistic with the same old pseudo-socialist slogans that had fooled citizens during his grandmother’s rule. You had claimed you wanted to take India forward — that hasn’t happened. Rahul Gandhi wants to drag it backwards — that is more likely to happen.

Narendrabhai, it’s time to wake up and smell the masala chai. Your one year in office is over. So is our patience. The trait you most need to check is your conceit. Foreign trips aren’t a fancy-dress parade. We understand all this sho-sha is new for you. It’s cute to see your childlike excitement on being mobbed by desi fans in South Korea. You’ve mastered the royal wave from the doors of your Air India aircraft. But India needs more than selfindulgent photo-ops of their PM jetting around the globe in sorbetcoloured designer gear.

It’s time you got down to business. Bharat is as un-swachh as it’s always been. Crimes against women haven’t been curbed. Foul-mouthed Sadhvis and Maharajs still spout hatred. Our armed forces are waiting for sensible budget outlays to provide modern basics to their men and women. And the Kashmir issue is where it has always been — stuck in a rut. Despite these overwhelming odds, Indians are a buoyant lot. In fact, we are pretty amazing when it comes to survival. Which is why we were deeply hurt by your insensitive comment during your recent trip to Shanghai and Seoul. Sorry to say, Modiji, but you should never have made that remark about people feeling ashamed to be born in India.

No Sir, we are very proud to be born Indian. But the one thing we do need to be ‘ashamed’ of is the fact that we keep voting for people who let us down. Bring on the ‘achhe din’ Narendrabhai, and all will be forgiven. Kasam se!